Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
SPIDER
3 weeks later
“Spider! Knock him out!” I hear yelled. I slam my fist into his face, feeling the crack of his cheekbone beneath the skin. I swing my left fist quickly after, pounding my fists over and over in quick succession. His eyes roll to the back of his head as he falls to the floor, his limp body laying at my feet. Adrenaline and anger pumps through my veins as I straddle him, continuing to pummel my fists into his face. Blood splatters and bones crack under my assault.
“Spider, fuck!” I hear Hawk yell.
“Get him off him!” Rev yells.
I am grabbed from behind and dragged off the guy. The cheering crowd is now stood there in stunned silence. My chest is heaving, and my entire torso is covered in my opponent’s blood.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Rev asks through gritted teeth before turning away to face the crowd. “Well ladies and gentlemen, there is no disputing the champion! The Viper is fine. We have only the best specialist taking good care of our fighters,” he explains as two of his men drag the Viper out of the ring. “Now on to the rest of the night, the party!” Rev yells. The crowd soon forget the brutal assault that just happened before them and start cheering again. Fickle fuckers.
“What the fuck, brother? You killed him,” Hawk fumes.
I ignore him and walk through to the make-shift changing room. I turn on the tap on the small sink and wash my hands, pausing to splash water on my body.
“Spider, fuck,” Beast sighs from behind me. The door slams shut, but I don’t turn around. I know it will be Ghost.
“Turn the fuck around and face me,” Ghost growls.
I grab a towel and pat my face and body dry before I turn around to face Ghost and my brothers. “That’s the 3 rd fight in 10 days where you’ve fucking killed someone,” he states.
I shrug. “It’s illegal bare knuckle boxing. It ain’t a fucking dance battle,” I defend.
Ghost’s eyes glint with fury as he crosses his arms over his chest. “Now is not the time for your fucking smart ass remarks.”
“He misses her,” Acid states. I look over at him as he stands there leaning against the wall, his face expressionless. Ignoring him, I chuck the bloodied towel on the floor and grabb my T-shirt, quickly putting it on.
“Shut the fuck up, Acid,” Ghost snaps. “You keep fighting like this, either you’ll end up dead or in jail. You can’t keep piling up the fucking bodies. People will ask questions, or you will piss off the wrong people who want a life for a life,” Ghost states.
I ignore him and grab my cut to head for the door, but before I can open it, the door swings open and Rage walks in, carrying a blood stained rag. “What’s that?” I ask.
Rage shrugs. “I was just out collecting.”
Ghost sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Show me.” Rage unravels the towel, revealing an eyeball. “Rage, that’s a fucking eyeball,” Ghost points out.
“I know. This guy has green eyes. I don’t have that colour yet,” Rage states with a smile playing on his lips.
“Well, I’m happy that you’ve completed your fucking collection, but what I’m more pissed about is the fact that you’ve just walked through a crowd of over one hundred people with a bloodied towel,” Ghost fumes, pacing back and forth.
I bite down on my bottom lip, fighting back my smile. “No one will look for him. He was part of a small gang out of town. He is wanted up and down the country. It will be no surprise that he ended up dead. Pissed off a lot of people,” Rage adds.
“Oh well, that’s alright then!” Ghost yells. “How do you know all this? Are you stalking your prey before you cut them up like a damn serial killer?” Ghost asks.
Hawk coughs back a laugh.
Rage frowns and pulls out his cell. “No, I have an app,” he says, turning it around and showing him. “It’s a bounty hunting app. It’s how I know how bad that person is and whether they will have a question about their deaths,” he points out. Ghost’s mouth opens and closes. “Anyway, I haven’t technically killed anyone. I’ve just harvested,” Rage defends.
It’s too much. I burst out laughing, and as I do, Hawk and Acid do the same.
“I’m glad you fuckers find it so amusing,” Ghost mutters. “Can you just not do your harvesting on our doorstep where all our DNA and witnesses have been?” Ghost asks.
Rage nods. “Sure thing, Pres. Anyway, that Rev didn’t know what to do with the body, so I helped him out. Chopped it up a bit so it’s easier to transport. In return, he said that I could keep the eye.” He shrugs.
“How you get laid is beyond me.” Hawk laughs. “Dixie know about this?” he asks.
“Yeah, you know she does. As long as I don’t do the killing, there isn’t a problem, as long as they stay in the basement. She never wants to see them,” he explains. Pausing, he looks to me and Acid. “You two friends again now?” he asks.
Both of our smiles instantly drop. “Not so much,” I answer.
“Why?” Rage presses. “You guys fuck different women all the time. What’s so different about you fucking Nova? It’s just sex.” Rage shrugs.
“I wouldn’t refer to Spider fucking Acid’s sister as just sex,” Hawk advises Rage.
Rage shrugs. “Well, it wasn’t like Spider hurt her. He protected her when it mattered. Acid should be grateful.”
“Just leave it, Rage,” Ghost sighs. “But the pair of you need to sort your shit. Rage has a point. Now either fucking make up, or fight until you do,” Ghost snaps.
I look at Acid and see his arms are crossed over his chest, the pissed off look on his face clearly showing he’s still not ready to forgive and move on. “You always were a stubborn fucker,” I tut, shaking my head purposefully to provoke him.
Acid shakes his head. “I know what you’re doing.”
I take a step towards him. “Do you? Tell me, what is it that I am doing?” I ask.
“You want me to fight you, to get it out of my system, but I won’t. I ain’t ready to forgive you yet,” Acid seethes.
“Well then, if you ain’t going to forgive me, then maybe I should go and see your sister. See if she’s ready for round two.” I wink and turn to walk away, knowing that would be enough to tip him over the edge.
“Motherfucker,” he growls, right before I feel his fist slam into the back of my head, making me stumble forward.
I smile and turn to face him, my fists braced. “Come on then, you want to have it out? Let’s fucking go,” I sneer.
Acid removes his cut and holds up his fists. “I beat your ass before, and I will happily do it again.” Acid smiles.
“I let you win last time. Now it’s fair fucking game,” I growl.
Acid moves first, taking a swing with his right fist. I swerve out of the way and counterpunch him with my left. He grunts, but counters it with his left, hitting my cheek. I stumble back a little but quickly right myself. Rearing my fist back, I slam it into his nose, hearing the cracking sound of his bones echo around the room. He doesn’t flinch. He just comes for me, landing a few punches. My beaten body had only just healed from the last time he gave me a kick-in. Each punch he landed felt 10 times more painful than the last, but I wasn’t about to back down. We were like for like, hit after hit.
After our years of growing up together, fighting together, we knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Our knuckles were split, our bodies were bruised, Acid’s lip was split and bleeding, and I could feel the blood trickling down my face. Our white T-shirts were now covered in claret, and both of us were exhausted and swaying on our feet, too damn stubborn to back down.
Ghost eventually walks in between us, stopping the fight. “Enough. We need to go,” he orders.
Panting, I frown, looking at Ghost as he types on his phone. Looking back to Acid, I hold out my hand. He looks down at my hand before he places his hand in mine and I pull him in for a tight hug, each of us slapping the other on the back.
“I’m sorry, brother,” I mutter. Acid pats my back.
“Brothers for life, formed in the depths of hell,” Acid says quietly.
We turn to Ghost. “What is it?” I ask.
He doesn’t look up from his phone. “Doesn’t matter. Right now we just need to fucking go.”
I grab Acid and myself another towel before we follow Ghost out to our bikes. We ride back to the club, none of us quite knowing what to expect when we get there. As we arrive, I notice a truck parked up. Queenie, Star, and Maggie are stood in front of the door, their arms crossed, talking to Dean and 2 of his men. I get off my bike and storm over, as does Ghost, Acid, Hawk, and Rage. The girls eyes go wide when they see the state of Acid and I, but I ignore them.
Standing in front of them, I face Dean. “You lost?” I ask.
Dean’s eyes glint with mirth when he takes in my battered state. “We are here for my girlfriend. I was told she was staying here. Blonde hair, blue eyes, great ass,” he says with a smirk.
I catch Hawk holding Acid back out of the corner of my eye. I shake my head. “Sorry, don’t know anyone of that description.”
Dean nods. “That so? Because I could have sworn it was your bike I saw her on the back of just a few weeks ago,” he adds.
I shrug. “You must have just got my bike confused with someone else’s.”
Dean holds up his hands. “You’re right, my mistake. Let me leave you my card, just in case you see her. I would appreciate a call. She isn’t well, and I just want her home safe,” he says as he hands over the card.
I take it and nod, fighting every urge within me to pull my gun from its holster and shoot him straight between the eyes.
“Ladies, it was lovely chatting with you. Should you ever need work, please call me. I would happily help put you to work,” he sneers.
“I’d rather work for Jack the fucking Ripper than you!” Star snaps.
Ghost steps forward and I place my hand on his chest, stopping him from losing his shit. “I think it’s best you leave immediately. Disrespecting the President of an MC’s ol’ lady is a dangerous and fucking stupid thing to do. We’ve answered your questions, now fucking leave,” I growl.
Dean nods. “We are leaving,” he says before he walks away and climbs into the back of his truck. Hawk and Rage pull their guns from their holsters, making sure that they are visible to Dean as he leaves.
“You good? He hurt you? Threaten you?” I hear Ghost ask Star while my eyes are pinned on Dean’s truck, watching as it leaves the compound.
“We are fine,” Star assures him.
Once the truck is out of sight, I turn to Star. “Where is she?” I ask.
“Inside hiding,” she sighs.
I turn and move quickly, entering the club. I look around. “Nova,” I call out. No answer. I storm down the hall to where her room was and open the door, seeing her curled up in the corner of her bed. Her petrified gaze lands on me, “Sweetheart, he’s gone,” I assure her.
She scrambles across the bed to me, and I sit with her on my lap. “I can’t go back to that life,” she sobs, tucking her face into the crook of my neck.
“Shh, it’s okay. He’s gone,” I tell her softly, stroking her hair. I kiss the top of her head. “I’ve got you. I won’t let anyone hurt you,” I promise her. Hearing movement in the doorway, I look up and see Acid stood there watching us. Nova lifts her head, her eyes red from crying and her tearstained cheeks is like a kick in the gut.
“Sorry,” she whispers.
I give her a small smile before placing a soft kiss on her forehead. My lips linger for just a moment. “I’ve got to go,” I rasp out as I lift her gently off my lap. I stand, not saying another word as I make my way past Acid. I walk straight into the bar and grab a bottle of whiskey.
“Where are you going?” Maggie asks.
I don’t answer. I just walk out of the club and march across the lot to the garage. Unlocking the door, I walk in and close it behind me. Unscrewing the lid, I gulp down a quarter of the bottle, coughing as it burns. I sit down on a stack of tires and drink some more, waiting for the alcohol to block out the pain I’m in.